1^ -— *^ "^ %a3AINrt3WV^ -v^^lilBRARYCk, -s^UiBKARYc?/^ %diivojo-^ ^mmy\^^ ^VlOS ANCf If j-^ ^OFCMI FO/?^ s;,Of'CAllfO% "^^^AnyHgii:!^ -^HIBRARY<9/ ^^mnw^ .^W[UNIVJR5yA AvlOSANCflfju ^lOSANCElfj^ 3 ^ %a3A!N(13# ^vwlOSANG[Lfj> ^;^t•LIBRARY<9/, ^^^ILIBRARY^/:^ iirtiiMi i^ii:: 3> ■= I fiaoNVsoi^ g' DO :=. ,<: so %il3AINn-3WV^ •O %il3AINn]WV^ vSr -v^lllBRARYQ/v § 1 ii*^ ^ ^ HISTORY WONDERFUL PlSHEg. iiulsltn : PriDt«:d by Cbristopuer Bcatbam, 19, Eustace-street. 1820. Price hound in Sheep, ^yhi pence—in Grain, sis^ence. StecJf ' Annex 5" 0&^ CONTENTS. Qlf 1 Page. The ^a Unicorn • T — Great Whale - 12 — Sword Fish - 30 — Dolphin - 33 — Porpoise . 3T — Grampus , 40 — Seal - At — Shark . 50 -Ray - 59 — Electrical Eel, or Torpedo 68 — Cuttle Fish - 77 — Sturgeon - 75 — Cod - S2 - Migration of Fishes 86 — Remora or Sac ;kiog Fish 96 Lobster - 99 — Crab . 1U7 — Nautilus - 119 — Turbot and Holibot 122 — Beaked CLaetodon or Shootiug Fiflh 127 — Mackerel . ^ 129 2091 1 84 VI. CONTENTS. The Salmon — Eel — Haddock — SUckteback — River Trout _ Pike — Flying Fish — Gold Fish — Cfirp — Muscle — Oyster — Pbolas — Barnacle — Razor Fish Page. 132 139 142 144 146 149 151 153 156 159 162 113 ITT 189 HISTORY WONDERFUL FISHES. THE SEA UNICORN. This immense fish, which is found in the Northern Seas, measures from 20 to 30 feet in length, exclusive of the weapon or horn in front of its head, which is from five to eight feet long. Sometimes the animal has two weapons. The head is small in proportion to the size of the body, and the (ins are also small ; there is not any fin on the back. The skin is white, varie- gaied with numerous black spots, on the upper part of the body. Such are the size and bulk, and so power- ful are the muscles of these animals, that they A 4 are able in their own clement, to move, in all diroctions, with astonishing velocity. The weapon, which projects sometimes to the length of six or eight leet, from their upper jaw, is one of the most formidable that can be imagined; it is as straight as an arrow ; about the thickness of the small of a man's leg, wreathed ia man- ner we sometimes see twisted bars of iron ; it tapers to a sharp point, and is whiter, heavier, and harder than ivory. When urged with all their force, it will penetrate even into the solid timbers of a ship ; and the body of no animal whatever is sufficiently hard to resist its effects. This weapon is not a horn, but is a species of tusk, in its substance not greatly unlike the tusks of the elephant. As ivory, it is, however^ much more valuable than these, from the cir- cumstances of its being harder, and capable of receiving a much higher polish. Notwithstand- ing' all these appointments lor combat, these long and pointed tusks, amazing strength, and un- equalled swiftness, the Sea Unicorn is one of the most liarmless and peaceable inhabitants of the ocean ; it is seen constantly and inoffensively sporting among the other great monsters of the deep, no way attenij)ting to injure them, but pleased in their company. Wherever it is seen, t as he — »3 62 none is so constantly employed in swimming ; he outstrips the swiftest ships, plays round them, darts out before them, returns, seems to gaze at the passengers, and all the while does not seem to exhibit the smallest symptom of an effort to proceed. Such amazing powers, with such great appetite for destruction, would quickly unpeople even the ocean; but providentially the Shark's upper jaw projects so far above the lower, that he is obliged to turn on one side, (not on his back, as is generally supposed,) to seize his prey. As this'tak^s some small time to perform, the animal pursued seizes that oppor- tunity to make its escape. Still, however, the depredations he commits, are frequent and formidable. The Shark is the dread of sailors in all hot climates ; where, like a greedy robber, he attends the ships, in expec- tation of what may drop overboard. A man who unfortunately falls into the sea at such a time, is sure to perish. A sailor that was bath- ing in the Mediterranean, near Antibes, in the year 1744, while he was swimming about fifty yards from the ship, perceived a monstrous fish making towards him, and surveying him on every side, as fish are often seen to look round a bait. The poor man, struck with terror at its approach, cried out to his companions in the vessel to take hira on board. — They accordingly threw him a rope with the utmost expedition, and were drawing him up by the ship's side, 54 when (lie shark darted upon bim from the dj?ep, and snapped off his leg. In the pearl Msheries of South America, every "Negro, in order to defend himself against these animals, carries with him into the water a sharp knife, which, if the fish offers to assault him, he endeavours to strike into its belly ; on which it generally swims off. The officers who are in the vessels, keep a watchful eye on these vora- cious creatures ; and, when they observe them approach, shake the ropes fastened to the Ne- groes, in order to put them on their guard. Many, when the divers have been in danger, have thrown themselves into the water, with Icnives in their hands, and hastened to their de- fence : but too often, all their dexterity and pre- caution have been of no avail. Such is the fri!j;htful rapacity of this animal, nothing that has life is rejected. But it seems to have a peculiar enmity to man : when once it has tasted human flesh, it ne\er desists from haunting those places where it expects the return of its prey. It is even asserted, ihat along the cta.sls of Africa, where these animals are found in great abuiuianco, numbers of the ncj^roes, who are obliged to f,e(|uen( the waters, are seized and devoured by them every }rar. The people of these cq^sts are liimly ol" opinion, that ihe Shark loves the black m.an\s flesh, in prefer- ence to the white ; and that when mcxi of djf- 55 ferent colours are in the water together, it air ways makes choice of t!ie former. However this be, men of all colours are equally afraid of this animal, and have contrived dif- ferent methods to destroy him. In general, they derive their success from the Shark's own rapa- city. The usual method of our sailors to take him, is by baiting a great hook with a piece of beef or pork, which is thrown out into the sea by a strong cord, strengthened near the hook with an iron chain. Without this precaution, the Sh rk would quickly bite the cord in tw^o, and thus set himself free. It is curious to ob- serve this voracious animal coming up to survey the bait, particularly when not pres!>ed by hun- ger. He approaches it, examines it, swims round ilt, seems for a while to neglect it, per- haps apprehensive of the cord and the chain: he quits it for a little, but his apprtite pressing, he returns again — appears preparing to devour it, but quits it once more. When the sailors have sufficiently observed hisdilFerent evolutions, they make a pretence, by drawing the rope, as if in- tending to take the bait away ; it is then that the glutton's hunger excites him; he darts at the bait, and sw^allows it, hook and all. Sometimes, however, he does not so entirely gorge the whole, but that he once more gets free ; yet even then, though wounded and bleeding with the hook, he will again pursue the bait until he is taken. When he finds the hook lodged in hi& D 4 56 maw, his utmost efforts are then excited, but in vain, to get free. He tries with his teeth to cut the chain ; he pulls with all his force to break the line; he almost seems to turn his stomach inside out to disgorge the hook : in this way he continues his formidable though fruitless eflorts ; till quite spent, he suffers his head to be drawn above water, and the sailors confining his tail by a noose, in this manner draw him on ship board, and dispatch him : yet even that is not effected without difficulty and danger ; the en- tormous creature, terrible even in the agonies of death, still struggles with his destroyers ; nor is there an animal in the world that is harder to be killed. Even when cut in pieces, the muscles still preserve their motion, and vibrate for some minutes after being separated from the body. Another method of taking him, is by striking a barbed instrument, called a fizgig, into his body, as he brushes along by the side of the ship. As soon as he is taken up, to prevent his flouncing, they cut off the tail with an axe, with the utmost expedition. This is the manner in which Europeans de- stroy the Shark; but some of the Negroes along the African coast, take a bolder and more dan- gerous method to combat their terrible enemy. Armed with nothing more than a knife, the Ne- gro plunges into the water, where he sees the Shark watching fpr his prey, and boldly sWims forward to meet him ; though the great animaj hi does not come to prtvoke the combat, lie does not avoid it, and suffers the man to approacli him ; but just as he turns on his side to seize the aggressor, the Negro watches the opportunit} , plunges his knife in the fish's belly, and pursues his blows with such success, that he lays the ravenous tyrant dead at the bottom: he soon, however, returns, fixes the fish's head in a noose, and drags him to shore, where he mal<:es a noble feast for the adjacent villages. Thus do boldness and address, iriumph over strength and ferocity. The South Sea islanders, also, are not in the least afraid of the Sharks, but will swim among them without exhibiting the least signs of fear. " I have seep,'' says Captain Pbrtiock, " five or six large Sharks swimming about the ship, when there have been upwards of a hundred In- dians in the water, both men and women : they seemed quite indiilerent respicting them, and the Sharks never otfcred to make an attack oii any of them, and yet at the same time would seize our bait greedily ; whence it is manifest that they derive their confidence of safety from their experience, that they are able to repel the attacks of those devouring monsters." Nor is man alone the only enemy this fish has to fear: the Reraora, or Sucking Fish, is pro- bably a still greater, and follows the Shark every where. This fish has got a power of adhering to whatever it sticks against, in the same man- 58 ner as a cupping glass sticks to the human body. It is bj such an apparatus that this animal sticks to the Shark, and drains av\ay its moisture. The seamen, however, are of opinion, that it is seen to attend on tlie Shark for more friendly purposes, to point liim to his prey, and to ap- prize him of his danger. For this reason, it has been ealied the Shark's Pilot. Upon the whole, a Shark, when living, is a a very formjdable animal; and, when -dead, is of veiy' little value. The flesh is hardly diges- tible by any but the Negroes, who are exceed- ingly fond of it ; the liver aflbrds three or four quarts of oil; some imaginary virtues in medi- cine have been ascribed to the brain ; and its iskin is, by great labour polished into that sub- stance called shagreen. Mr. Pennant is of opi- nion, that the female is larger than the male in all this tribe ; which would, if confirmed by ex- perience, make a striking agreement between them and birds of prey. 69 THE RAY. The same rapacity which impels tlie Shark along the surface of the water, actuates the iiat fish at the bottom. Less active and less formi- dable they creep irr security along the bottom, and seize every thing that comes in their way ; neither the hardest shells nor the sharpest spines give protection to the animals that bear them; their insatiable hunger is such, that they devour all, and the force of their stomach is so great, that it easily digests them. All fish of the Ray kind are broad, carti- laginous, swimming flat on the water, and having spines on different parts of their body, or at the tail- They all have their eyes and mouth placed quite under the body, with holes for breathing either about or near thsm. They all have teeih, or a rough bone, which answers the same purpose. Their bowels are very wide towards the mouth, and go on dimi- nishing to the tail. The tail is very differently shaped from that of other fishes ; and at first sight more resembling that of a quadruped, being narrow, and ending either in a bunch or a point. But what they are chiefly distinguished by, is their spines or prickles, which the different species have on different parts of their body. Some are armed with spines both above and below; others have them on the upper part only j 60 some have their spines in the tail ; some hare three rows of them, and others but one. These prickles in some are comparatively soft and feeble ; those of others strong and piercing. The smallest of these spines are usually inclining towards the lail ; the larger towards the head. Of all the larger fish of the sea, these ar^ (he most numerous ; and they owe their numbers to their size. Except the White Shark and Ca- chalot alone, there is no other lish that has a swallow large enough to take them in *, and their spines make them still a more dangerous morsel. Yet the size of some is such, that even the Shark himself is unable to devour them; some of them in England have been known to weigh above two hundred pounds ; but that is nothing to their enormous bulk in other parts of the world. Labat tells of a prodigious Ray that was speared by the Negroes at Gaudaloupe, which was thir- teen feet eight inches broad, and above ten 'feet from the snout to the insertion of the tail. The tail itself was in proj)ortion, for it was no less than fifteen feet long; twenty inches broad at its in- sertion, and tapering to a point. The body was two feet in depth ; the skin as thick as leather, and marked with spots; which spots, in all of this kind, are only glands that supply a mucus to make smooth and soften the skin. This enor- mous fish was utterly unfit to be eaten by the Europeans; but the Negroes chose out some of 61 the nicest bits, and carefully salted thcni up as a most favourite provision. Yet, large as this may seem, it is very pro- bable that we have seen only the smallest of the kind; as they generally keep at the bottom, the largest are seldom seen ; and, as they may pro- bably have been growing for many years, the extent of their magnitude is unknown. It is generally supposed, however, that they are the largest inhabitants of the deep ; and were we to credit the reports of some fabulous authors, there are some above a mile over. To suppose an animal of such magnitude is absurd ; yet everi the exaggeration does not destroy the probability that animals of this tribe grow to an enormous size. The Ray generally chuses for its retreat, such parts of the sea as have a black muddy bottom ; the large ones keep at greater depths ; but tlie smaller approach the shores, and feed upon what- ever living animals they can surprise, or what- ever putrid substances they meet with. As they are ravenous, they easily take the bait, yet will not touch it, if it be taken up and kept a day or two out of water. Almost all fish appear much more delicate with regard to a baited hook than their ordinary food. They appear by their manner to perceive the line and to dread it, but the impulse of their hunger is too great for their caution ; and, even though they perceive ihe danger, if thoroughly hungry, they devour the destruction. 63 These iisli brcet sight venture to take it in his hand, without any apprehensions ; but he soon finds that there is not a single part of its body that is not armed with spines; and that there is uo way of seizing the animal, but by the little fin at the end of the tail. But this animal is harmless, when compared to the fireflare, which seems to be the dread of even the boldest and most experienced fisher- men. The weapon with which Nature has armed this animal, which grows from the tail, and which is described as barbed, and five inches long, has been an instrument of terror to the ancient fishermen, as well as the moderns. It is fixed to the tail, as a quill is into the tail of a fowl, and is annually shed in the same manner : it may be necessary for the creature's defence, but is no way necessary for its ex- istence. The Negroes universally believe that the sting is poisonous ; but they never die of 68 the wound ; for, by opening the fish, and lay- ing it to the part injured, it effects a speedy cure. The slightness of the remedy proves the innocence of the wound. THE ELECTRICAL EEL, OR TORPEDO. This curious species of Eel is peculiar to South America, where it is found only in the rocky parts of rivers, at a great distance from the sea. It possesses the singular property of giving a sudden and violent shock to those who touch it, accompanied with numbness and pain, sometimes so violent as to be of serious conse- quences. — The shock received from this animal resembles, by all accounts, the shock of an elec- trical machine, sudden, tingling, and painful. " The instant," says Kempfer, *' I touched it with my hand, I felt a terrible numbness in my arm, and as far as the shoulder." — Even if trod upon with the shoe on, it affects not only the leg, but the whole thigh upwards. Those who touch it with the foot, are seized with as strong a pal- pitation as those who touch it with the hand. This numbness bears no resemblance to that which we feel when a nerve is a long time pressed, and the foot is said to be asleep — the pain is real, and the person struck, imagines that the bones of the limb, receiving the blow, 69 are driven out of joint ; all this is accompanied with a universal tremor, a sickness of the sto- mach, a general convulsion, and atonal suspen- sion of the faculties of the mind ; " in short,"" continues Kempfer, " such is the pain, that all the force of our promises, and authority, could not prevail upon a seaman to undergo the shock a second time." It is certain, however, that the powers of this animal seem to decline with its vigour, for as its strength ceases, the force of the shock diminishes, till at last, when the fish is dead, the whole power is destroyed, and it may be handled or eaten with perfect secu- rity ; on the contrary, immediately after being taken out of the water, its force is very great. Doctor Williamson informs us, that on touch- ing an Electrical Eel with one hand, a sensa- tion is experienced, similar to that arising from being electrified : with a short iron rod the same was felt^ but less powerfully. While another person provoked the fish. Doctor Williamson put his hand into the water, at the distance of three feet from it, and felt an unpleasant sen- sation in the joints of his fingers. Some small fish were thrown into the water, and the animal immediately stunned and swallowed them. A larger fish was thrown in, which he stunned likewise, and attempted to swallow : but, from its size he could not do it. Doctor Williamson put his hand into the. water, and had another fish thrown in at some distance. The Eel swam 70 up lo it, and at first turned au-ay without offering it any violence : alter a litlJo time, he returned, and, looking stedfastly at it for a few seconds, gave It a shock, by which it instantly turned on its back and became motioniess. Dr. William- son, at that very instant, fell thesame sensation in his fingers, as when he put his hand into the water before. A fish was afterwards struck, but not quite killed : when the Electric Eel per- ceived this, he returned, and at a second shock, evidently more severe than the former, rendered it motionless. On touching it with one hand so as to provoke it, and holding the other in the \\aterat a little distance, a severe shock was felt through both the arras, and across the breast, similar to that from an electrifying machine. Eight or ten persons, with their hands joined, experienced the same, on the first touching the head, and the last the tail of the fish. A dog being made a link in this chain, at ihe instant of contact uttered a loud yell. This mode of defence the fish never adopted except it was irritated; and Doctor William- son has passed his hand along the back and sides from head to tail, and even lifted part of its body out of the water, without tempting it to injure him. Mr. Bryant mentions an instance of the shock being felt through a considerable thickness of >vood. One morning, while he was standing in which 71 one of these fish was contained, he had lifted it entirely from the ground, and was pouring otF the water to renew it, when he received a shock so violent, as occasioned him to let the tub fall. Mr. Bryant then called another person to his as- sistance, and caused them together to lift up the tub, each laying hold only on the outside. When they were pouring off the remainder of the wa- ter, they each received a shock so smart, that they were compelled to desist. Persons have been knocked down with the stroke. One of these fish being shaken from a net upon the grass, an English sailor, notwith- standing all the persuasions that were used to prevent him, would insist on taking it up : but the moment he grasped it, he dropped down in a fit ; his eyes w^re fixed ; his face became li- vid ; and it was not without diflBculty that his senses were restored. He said that the instant he touched it, " the cold ran swiftly up his arm into his body, and pierced him to the heart. A negro, who attempted to grasp a large Electrical Eel firmly with both his hands, had, in consequence, a confirmed paralysis in both his arms. Dr. Garden says, that for a person to receive a shock from the Electrical Eel, it is necessary to take hold of the fish with both hands, at some considerable distance from each other, so as to form a communication betwixt them. He held a large one several times by one hand, without E 72 receiving a shuck, but he never touched any of them w^ith both his hands without feeling a smart shock. The remainder of his experiments, thougii not so numerous, tend to coniiim the truth of those that were made by Dr. Williamson. The account of Captain Stednian differs from the above in one material point : he says, that it is by no means necessary to grasp the animal with both hands to receive the shock, having himself experienced the contrary etiect. For a small wager he attempted several times to seize an Elctrical Eel with one hand, and at every trial he had a severe shock, which ex- tended to the top of his shoulder ; and after about twenty dilTerent attempts, to no purpose, he was compelled to desist. This property seems principally of use to the Electrical Eels in securing their food ; for be- ing destitute of teeth, ihey would otherwise be scarcely able to seize it. — The force of the shock has been batisfactorily proved to depend entirely on the will, and to be exerted as circumstances require. Their prey are generally so stunned by ihe shock, as to appear dead ; but when these have been taken into another vessel, they have been always found to recover. When the Electrical Eels are hungry, tljey are tolerably keen after their food ; but they are soon satis- fied, not being able to contain much at one time. One of them, three feet and upwards in length, could not swallow^ a fi[;h above three, or ill iuobI three inches and a hall long. 73 THE CUTTLE FISH. Gf all animals, the Cutde Fish possesseg fjuaiifies the most extraordinary. It is about two feet lon^, covered with a very thin skin, and its flesh composed of a gelatinous substance, which, however, withinside, is strengthened by a strong bone, of which great use is made by the goldsmiths. It is possessed of eight arms, which it extends, andwhich are probably of service to it in fishing for its prey ; while alive, the ani- mal is capable of lengthening or contracting these at pleasure ; but when dead, they con- tract, and lose their rigidity. — They feed upon small fish, which they seize with their arms; and they are bred from eggs, which are laid upon the vyeeds along the sea shore. Jh^ CuttJe Fish is found along many of the coasts of Europe, but is not easily caught, from a contrivance with which it is furnished by Na- ture: this is a black substance of the colour of ink, which is contained in a bladder, on the left side of the belly; whenever, therefore, tliis fish is pursued, and when it finds a diffi- culty of escaping, it spurts forth a great quan- tify of this black liquor, by which the waters are totally darkened, and then it escapes by lying close at the bottom. In this manner, the creature find itssafety^ and men have ample cause im admiration, from the various modes iu 74 which Nature has enabled the diflferent kinds of animals to consult for their preservation. This liquid has been known from the remotest ages, and has been applied to various uses: vvhen mixed with other matters, it has proved a good die, and it has been applied as ink, for writing and printing. When the animal is taken, it emits a great deal of this juice, and makes a noise like a hog. In this creature, we find a remarkable instance of conjugal affection; the union of the male and female, when once formed, is during life ; and in defence of the female and the young, the male will expose itself with great boldness to considerable dan- ger ; if he should be taken, they immediately fly with great terror. But to return to the enormous size at which it is said they arrive in the Indian seas : its body, it is asserted, is sometimes two fathoms, that is twelve feet, across the centre, and the arms stretch out to the amazing length of nine fathoms, or fifty- four feet. So impressed are the Indian fisher- men with the truth of this account, that they never row out in their little boats, without a sharp axe, by which they may cut off any of these arms, which may be cast over the boat, and which would overset it. 75 TH,E STURGEON, AND ITS VARIETIES. The Sturgeon, with a form as terrible and a body as large as the shark, is yet as harmless a lish as swims in the sea ; incapable and un- willing to injure others, it flies from the smallest fishes, and generally Tails a victim to its own timidity. The Sturgeon, in its gen.eral form, resembles a fresh-water pike. The nose is lung ; the mouth is situated beneath, being small, and without jaw-bones or teeth. But though it is so harmless and ill provided tor war, the body is formidaule enough to appearance. It is long, pentagonal, and covered with live rows of large bony knobs, one row on the back, and two on each side, and ^ number of fins to give it greater expedition. Of this fish there are three kinds, the Comoaoii Sturgeon, the Caviar Sturgeon, and the Huso or Jsinglass fish. The hrst is the Sturgeon, the flesh of vyhich is sent pickled into all parts of Europe. The second is the fish from the roe of which that noted delicacy called caviar is made ; and ihe third, besides supplying the caviar, furnishes also the valuable commodity of isin- glass. They all grow to a very great size ; and some of them have been found about eighteen feet long. There is not a country in Europe but what this fish visits at diiferent seasons j it annuallj 1^2 76 ascends (he largest rivers to spawn, aHtl pro- pagates in an amazing number. The inhabitants along the banks of the Po, the Danube, and the Wolga, make great profit yearly of its incursions up the stream, and have their nets prepared for its reception. The Sturgeon also is brought daily to the markets of Rome and Venice, and they are known to abound in the Mediterranean sea. Yet those fish that keep entirely either in salt or fresh water, are but comparatively smaH. When the Sturgeon enjoys the vicissitude of fresh and salt water, it is then that it grows to an enormous size, so as almost to rival even the whale in magnitude. There are also frequent visits from this much esteemed Hsh in England. It is often aotiident- ally taken in the rivers there in salmon-nets, particularly in those parts that are not far re- mote from the sea. Tlie largest we have heard of ©aught in Great-Britain, was a fish taken in the Eske, a river of Scotland, where they are most frequently found, which weighed four hundred and sixty pounds. An enormous size to those who have only seen our fresh-water fishes ! As the Sturgeon is a harmless fish and no way voracious, it is never caught by a bait in the ordinary manner of fishing, but always in nets. From the description given above of its mouth, it is not to be supposed that the Sturgeon would swallow any hook capable of holding So 77 large a bulk and so strong a swimmer. In lact, it never attempts to seize any of the finny tribe, but Jives by rooting at the bottom of the sea, where it makes insects and sea-plants its whole subsistance. From this quality of floundering at the bottom it has received its name ; which in the German, signifies 1o wallow in the mud. That it lives upon no large animals is obvious to all those who cut it open, where nothing is found in its stomach but a kind of slimy substance, which has induced some to think it lives only upon water and air. From hence there is a German proverb, which is applied to a man ex^ tremely temperate, w^hen they say, he is as mo- derate as a Sturgeon, As the Sturgeon is so temperate in its appe- tites, so is it also equally timid in its nature. There would be scarcely any method of taking it, did not its natural desire of propagation, induce it to incur so great a variety of dangers. The smallest fish is alone sufficient to terrify a shoal of Sturgeons ; for, being unfurnished with any weapon of defence, they are obliged to trust to their swiftness and their caution lor security. — Like all animals that do not make war upon others. Sturgeons live in society among them- selves : rather for the purposes of pleasure, than from any power of mutual protection. Gesner even asserts, that they are delighted with sounds of various kinds, and that he has seen them shoal together, at the notes of a trumpet. 78 The usual time for the Sturgeon lo come up rivers to deposit its spawn, is about the begin- ning of summer, when the fishermen of all great rivers make a regular preparation for its reception. At PiUau particularly, the shores are formed into districts, and allotted to compa- nies of fishermen, some of which are rented for about three hundred pounds p, year. The nets in which the sturgeon are caught, are made of s:uail cord, and placed across the mouth of the river ; but in such a manner that, whether the lisde ebbs or flows, the pouch of the net goes with the stream. The Sturgeon thus caught, while in the water, is one of the strongest fishes that swims, and often breaks the net to pieces that encloses it : but the instant it is raised, with Its head above water, all its activity ceases: it is then a lifeless, spiritless lump, and suffers itself to be tamely dragged on shore. It has been found prudent, however, to draw it to shore gently; for, if excited by any unnecessary violence, it lias been found to break the fisher- men's legs with a blow of its tail. — The most experienced fishers, therefore, when they havp drawn it to the brink, keep the head still ele- vated, which prevents its doing any mischief with the hinder part of the body : others by a nooze, fasten the head and the tail together ; aqd thus, without immediately dispatching it, bring it to the market, if there be one near, or keep it till their number i« completed for cxporla- tioi. 79 The flesh of this animal pickled, is very well known at all the tables of Europe ; and is even more prized in England, than in any of the countries where it is usually caught. The fish- ermen have two different methods of preparing it. The one is by cutting it in long pieces lengthwise, and having salted them, by hanging them up in the sun to dry : the fish thus prepared is sold in all the countries of that part of the Mediterranean called the Levant, and supplies the want of better provision. The other method, which is usually practised in Holland, and along the shores of the Baltic, is to cut the Sturgeon crosswise into short pieces, and put it into small barrels, wMth a certain pickle, made of salt and faumure. This is the Sturgeon which is mostly sold in England. A very great trade is also carried on with the roe of the Sturgeon, preserved in a particular manner, and called Caviar: it is made from the roe of all kinds of Sturgeon, but particularly the second. This is much more in request in other countries of Europe than with us. To all these high relished meats, the appetite must be formed by degrees ; and though formerly, even in Eng- land, it was very much in request at the tables of the great, it is at present sunk entirely into disuse. It is still, however, a considerable merchandize among the Turks. Greeks and Venetians. Caviar somewhat resembles soft «oap in consistence; but it is of a brown, uniform 80 «-olour, and is eaten as cheese with bread. The manner ot" making it is this: they take thespav?n from the body oi the Sturgeon ; for it is to be ob- served, that the Sturgeon differs from other car- tilaginous tish, in that it has spawn like a cod, and not eggs like a ray. They take the spawn, and freeing it from the small membranes that connect it together, they wash it with vinegar, and afterwards spread it to dry upon a table ; ihey then put it into a vessel with salt, breaking the spawn with their hands, and not with a pestle ; this done, they put it into a canvas bag, letting the liquor drain from it ; lastly, they put it in a tub, with holes in the bottom, so that, it there be any moisture still remaining, it may run out : then it is pressed down, and covered up close for use. The fecundity of the Sturgeon is exceedingly great — Catesby says that the females frequently contain a bushel of spawn ; and Lewenhock found in the roe of one of them, one hundred and ii ( ty mi 11 i on o f eggs ! liut the Huso or Isinglass fish furnishes a still more valuable commodity. Tliis fish is caught in great quantities in the Danube, from rhe months of October to January: it is sel- dom under fifty pounds weighl, and often above tour hundred ; its flesh is soft, glutinous and flabby ; but it is soniehmes salted, wiiich makes xi better tasted, and I hen it turns red like salmon. Jt Mj fof the commodity k furnishcii, that it is chief;. 81 \y taken. Isinglass is of a whitish substance,, inclining to yellow, done up into rolls, and so exported lor use. It is very well known as serviceable not only in medicine, but many arts. The varnisher, the wine merchant, and even the clothier know its uses : and very great sums are vyearly expended upon this single article oi' commerce. The manner ol" making it is this: they take the skin, the entrails, the tins, and the tail of this fish, and cut them into small pieces ; these are left to steep in a sufiieient quantity of warm water, and they are ail boiled shortly af- ter with a slow fire, until they are dissolved and reduced to a jelly; this jelly is spread upon in- struments made for the purpose, so that, drying, it assumes the form of parchment, and, when quite dry, is then rolled into the form which we see in shops. This valuable commodity is principally fur- nished from Russia, where they prepare great quantities suTprisingly cheap. ♦HH* that issue on each side of the li^ad, that seem to correct the dimness of its s^ght, and apprise the a^iiraal of its danger, or of its prey. The tt^il, or that jointed instrument Ht the other end, is the grand instrunient of mo- lion; ^nd with this it can raise itself in the vyater. Un^er this we usually see lodged the spawn in great abundance ; every pea adhering to the next by a very iine hlainejit, which is scarcely perceivable. Tiie ovary, or place where the spawn is first produced, is backwards, toward the tail, \yhere a red sub-tance is always found, and which is nothing but a cluster of peas, thait are yet too small for exclusion. From this rcce])tacle tliere go two canals, that open on each side at the jointures of the shell, at the belly ; and through these passages, tjie peas de- scend to be excluded, and placed under the tail, where the ^nimal preserves theai from danger for soroo tin^e, until they come to maturity; when, boing furnished with limbs and motion, they drop oit into the water. When the young lobsters leave the parent, they immediately seek for refuge in the smallest and it is thought, IVom (he nuoiber of little shells which it is seeo exaunning, that it deposits its spawn in them, which thus is placed in perfect security till the time of exclu- sion. However this be, the soldier is in the end by no means unmindful of itself. It is still seen in its old shell, which it appears to have con- siderably out grown ; for a part of the naked body is seen at the mouth of it, which the habi- tation is too small to hide. A sliell, therefore, is to be found, large enongh to cover the whole body ; and yet not so large as to be unmana- geable and unwieldy. To answer both those ends is no easy matter, nor the attainment of a slight enquiry. The little soldier is seen busily parading the shore, along that line of pebbles and shells that is fornued by the extremest wave ; siill, however, dragging its old incommodious habitation at its tail, unwilling to })art with one shell, even (hough a troublesome appendage, 116 till it can fiad acother more coavenipnt. It is seen stopping at one sl>ell, turning it and passing it by, going on to another, contemplating that for a while, and then slipping its tail from its old habitation, to try on a new. This also is found to be inconvenient; and it quickly returns to its old shell again. In this manner, it fre- quently changes, till at last it finds one light, roomy and commodious ; to this it adheres, though the shell be sometimes so large as to hide the body of the animal, claws and all. Yet it is not till after many trials, and many combats also, that the soldier is thus completely equipped ; for there is often a contest between two of them for some well looking favourite shell, for which they are rivals. They both endeavour to take possession ; they strike with their claws ; they bite each other, till the weakest is obliged to yield, by giving up the object of dispute. It is then that the victor takes pos- session, and parades in his new conquest three or four times back and forward, upon the strand, before his envious antagonist. When this animal is taken, it sends forth a feebte cry, endeavouring to seize the enemy with its nippers ; which if it fasten upon, it will sooner die than quit the grasp. The wound is very painful, and not easily cured. For this reason, and as it is not much esteemed for its fiesh, it is generally permitted to return to its old retreat to the mountains in Mifety. There it 117 continu«s till the necessity of changing once more, and the desire of producing an offspring, expose it to freeh dangers the year ensuing. The antients were well acquainted with the soldier-crab, as is evident from the following lines of their poets. '* The Soldier Crab unarm 'd by nature, left Helpless, and weak, grow strong by harmless theft. Fearful they crawl and look with panting wish For the cast crust of some new-covered fish ; Or such as empty lie, and deck the shore, Whose first and rightful owners are no more. They make glad seizure of the vacant room. And count the borrowed shell their native home ; Screw their soft limbs to fit the winding case, And boldly herd with the crustaceous race. But when they larger grow than fill the place. And find themselves hard-pinch'd in scanty space, CompelPd they quit the roof tliey lov'd before, And busy search around the pebbly shore. Till a commodious roomy seat be found, Such as the larger shell-fish living ownM. Oft cruel wars contending soldiers wage. And long for the disputed shell engage. The strongest here the doubtful prize possess. Power gives the right, and all the claim possess. 'M' ; \0i 119 tHE NAUTILUS. The Nautilus is a species of sea snaiJ, and although there are several kinds of this creature, yet they all may be divided into two : the one with a white shell, as thin as paper, which it often is seen to quit, and again to resume ; the other with a thicker shell, sometimes of a beau- tiful mother-of-pearl colour, and that quits its shell but rarely. This shell outwardly resembles that of a large snail, but is generally six or eight inches across : within, it is divided into forty partitions, that communicate with each other by doors, if I may so call them, through which one could not thrust a goose quill : almost the whole internal part of the shell is filled by the animal ; the body of which, like its habitation, is divided into as many parts as there are chambers in its shell ; all the parts of its body communicate with each other, through the doors or openings, by a long blood-vessel, which runs from the head to th..>..»..K^<,.<. <..«. THE COMMON SALMON. This fish seems confined, in a great measure, to the northern seas, being unknown in the Me- diterranean, and in the waters of other warm cli- mates. It lives in fresh as well as in salt waters, forcing itself in autumn up the rivers, sometimes for hundreds of miles, for the purpose of de- positing its spawn. In these peregrinations, it is that Salmon arc caught in the great numbers that supply our markets and tables. Intent only on the object of their journey, they spring up cataracts, and over other obstacles of a very great height. This extraordinary power seems to be Qwing lo a sudden jerk vvhicii the fish 133 gives to its body, from a bent into a gtraiglit position. When they are unexpectedly ob- structed in their progress, it is said they swim a few paces back, survey the object for some minutes motionless, retreat, and return again to the charge : then, collecting all their force, with one astonishing spring, overleap every obstacle. Where the water is low, or sand- banks intervene, they throw themselves on one side, and in that position soon work themselves over into the deep water beyond. On the river LiflPey, in Ireland, there is a cataract about nineteen feet high : here, in the Salmon season, many of the inhabitants amuse themselves in observing the fish leap up the torrent. They frequently fall back many times before they sur- mount it; and baskets, made of twigs, are placed near the edge of the stream, to catch them in their fall. — At the falls of Kilmorack, in Scotland, where the Salmon are very nume- rous, it is a common practice with the country people to lay branches of trees on the edges of the rocks, and by this means they often take such of the fish as miss their leap, which the foaming of the torrent not unfrequently causes them to do. And the late Lord Lovat, who often visited these falls, taking the hint from this circumstance, formed a determination to try a whimsical experiment on the same prin- ciple. Alongside one of the falls, he ordered a kettle full of watei^ to be placed over a fire ; 134 and many minutes had not elapsed before a large Salmon made a false leap, and fell into it. This may seem incredible to those who never saw one of these rude Salmon-leaps : but surely there is as great a chance of a Salmon falling into a kettle, as on any given part of the adjacent rock ; and it is a thing that would certainly take place many times in the course of the season, were but the experiment tried. When the Salmon have arrived at a proper place for spawning in, the male and female unite in forming, in the sand or gravel, a proper receptacle for their eggs, about eighteen inches deep, which they are also supposed afterwards to cover up. In this hole, the eggs lie until the ensuing spring, (if not displaced by the floods,) before they are hatched. The parents,' how- ever, immediately after their spawning, become extremely emaciated, and hasten to the salt water. Towards the end of March, the young fry begin to appear ; and, gradually increasing in size, become, in the beginning of May, five or six inches in length, when they are called Salmon- smelts, They now swarm, in myriads, in the rivers ; but the first flood sweeps them down into the sea, scarcely leaving any behind. About the middle of June, the largest of these begin to return into the rivers : they are now become of the length of twelve or sixteen inches. To- wards the end of July they are called Gilse, and weigh from six to nine pounds each. 135 When Salmon enter the fresh waters, they are always more or less infested with a kind of insect called the salmon-louse : when these are numerous, the fish are esteemed in high season. Very soon after the Salmon have left the sea, the insects die and drop off. After the fish have become lean at the spawn- ing-time, on their return to the sea they acquire their proper bulk in a very little while ; having been known to considerably more than double their weight in six weeks. — Their food consists of the smaller fishes, insects, and worms ; for all these are used with success as baits, by the anglers for Salmon. The principal fisheries in Europe are in the rivers; or on the sea-coasts adjoining to the large rivers of England, Scotland and Ireland. The chief Irish rivers for them are the Shannon, the Liffey, the Boyne, and the Ban in the north of the Island. They are sometimes taken in nets *, and sometimes by means of locks or weirs, with iron or wooden grates, so placed in an angle, that, being impelled by any force in a direction contrary to that of the stream, they open, let the fish (or whatever else pushes against them) through, and again, by the force of the water or their own weight, close and prevent their return. Salmon are also killed in still w^ater, by means of a spear with several prongs, which the fishermen use with surprising dexterity. When this is used in the nio-ht. a candle and 136 lantern, or a wliisp of straw set on fire, is car- ried along, to the light of which the fish collect. In the river Tweed, about the month of July, the capture of Salmon is astonishing : often a boat-load, and sometimes nearly two, m:iy be taken at a tide; and, in one instance, above seven hundred fish were caught at a single haul of the net. From fifty to a hundred at a haul are very common. Most of those that are ta- ken before the setting-in of the warm weather, are sent fresh to London, if the weather will permit. The others are salted, pickled, or dried, and are sent off in barrels, in quantities sufficient not only to stock the London markets, but also some of the markets of the Continent ; for the former are by no means able to take all the fish that are caught here. The season for fishing commences in the Tweed on the thirtieth of November, and ends about old Michaelmas day. On this river there are about forty considerable fisheries, which extend, upwards, about fourteen miles from the mouth ; besides many others of less consequence. These, several years ago, were rented at above the annual sum of ten thousand pounds ; and to defray this expenoo, it has been calcu- lated that more than 200.000 Salmon must be caught there, one year with another. The Scotch fisheries are very productive ; as arc also several of those in Ireland, particular- ly that at Cranna on the river Ban, about a 137 mile and a half from Coleraine. At this place, in the year 1760, as many as three hundred and twenty tons were taken. A person of the name of Graham, who farm- ed the sea-coast fishery at Whitehaven, adopted a successful mode of taking Salmon, which he appropriately denominated Salmon hunting' When the tide is out, and the fish are left in shallow waters, intercepted by sand-banks, near the mouth of a river, or when they are found in any inlets up the shore, where the water is not more than from one foot to four feet in any depth, the place where they lie is to be discove- red by their agitation of the pool. This man, armed with a three-pointed barbed spear, with a shaft of fifteen feet in length, would mount his horse, and plunge at a swift trot, or moder- ate gallop, belly deep, into the water. He made ready his spear with both hands : when he overtook the Salmon, he let go one hand, and with the other struck the spear, with almost unerring aim, into the fish. This done, by a turn of the hand he raised the Salmon to the surface of the water, turned his horse's head to the shore, and ran the Salmon on dry land without dismounting. This man said, that by the present mode he could kill from forty to fifty in a day : ten were, however, no despicable day\s work for a man and horse. His father was probably the first man that ever adopted this »)ethod of killing Salmon on horseback. 138 Salmon are cured by being split, rubbed with saU, and put in pickle, in tubs provided for the purpose, where they are kept about six weeks: they are then taken out, pressed, and packed in casks with layers of salt. Different species of Salmon come in so great abundance up the rivers of Kamtschatka, as to force the waters before them, and even to dam up the streams in such a manner as sometimes to make them overflow their banks. In this case, when the water finds a passage, such multitudes are left on the dry ground as would, were it not for the violent winds so prevalent in that country, assisted by the bears and dogs, soon produce a stench sufficiently great to cause a pestilence. Salmon are said to have an aversion to any thing red, so that the fishermen are generally careful not to wear jackets or caps of that colour. Pontoppidan says also, ihat they have so great a dislike to carrion, that, if any happen to be thrown into the places where they are, they immediately forsake them. 139 THE COMiMON EEL. The Common Eel evidently forms a con- necting link, in the chain of nature, between serpents and fishes, possessing not only, in a great measure, the serpent form, but also many of their habits. It is frequently known to quit its own element, and to wander, in the evening or night over meadows, in search of snails and other prey, or to other ponds for change of habitation. This will account for Eels being found in waters that have not been in the least suspected to contain them. Mr. Aderon, in the Philosophical Transactions, says, that in June, 1746, while he was viewing the flood-gates belonging to the water-works of Norwich, he observed a great number of Eels sliding up them, and up the adjacent posts, to the height of five or six feet above the surface of the water. They ascended with the utmost facility, though many of the posts were perfectly dry, and quite smooth. They first thrust their heads and about half their bodies out of the wa- ter, and held them against the wood-work for some time. They then began to ascend directly upwards, and with as much apparent ease as if they had been sliding on level ground ; this they continued till they had got into the dam above. Of the migration of young Eels from one part of a river to another, an instance is related by 140 Dr. Anderson, in bis publication called the Bee, " Having occasion (says this gentleman) to be once on a visit at a friend's house on Dee-side, in Aberdeenshire, I often delighted to walk by the banks of the river. I one day observed some- thing like a black string moving along the edge of the river in shoal water. Upon closer inspec- tion I discovered that this was a shoal of young Eels, so closely joined together as to appear, at first view, one continued body, moving briskly up against the stream. To avoid the resistance they experienced from the force of the current, they kept close along the water's edge the whole of the way, following all the bendings of the ri- ver. Wherever they came into still water, the breadth of the shoal increased so as to be some- times nearly a fool broad ; but when they turned a cape, where the current was strong, they were forced to occupy less space, and press close to the shore, struggling very hard till they passed it. " This shoal continued to move on night and day, withoutinterruption,forseveral weeks. Their progress might be at the rate of about a mile an hour. It was easy to catch the animals, though they were very active and nimble. They were Eels perfectly formed in every respect, bat not exceeding two inches in length. The shoal did not contain, on an average, less than from twelve to twenty in breadth ; so that (he number which passed on the whole, during (heir progress, must 141 have been very g:reat. Whence they came, or whither they went, I know not. The place where this was observed was six miles from the sea, and the same pha?nomenon takes place every year about the same season.'"' The usual hauuls of Eels are in mud, amon^^ weeds, under the roots or stumps ol" trees, or in holes, in the banks or the bottom of rivers. They are partial to still waters, and particularly to such as are muddy at the bottom. Here they often grow to an enormous size, sometimes weigh- ing fifteen or sixteen pounds— One that was caught near Peterborough, in England, in the year 1667, measured a yard and three quarters in length. When kept in ponds they have been known to destroy young ducks. Sir John Hawkins, from a canal near his house at Twickenham, missed many of the young ducks ; and, on drain- ing, in order to clean it, great numbers of large Eels w^ere discovered in the mud. In the sto- machs of many of them were found, undigested, the heads and part of the bodies of the victims. Eels seldom come out of their hiding-places but m the night, during which time they are tak- en with lines that have several baited hooks. — In winter they bury themselves deep in the mud, and, like the serpent tribe, remain in a state of torpor. They are so impatient of cold, as in se- vere weather eagerly to take shelter even in a whisp of straw, ifflung into a pond. This has 142 sometimes been practised as a mode of calching- them. Eels bring forth their young alive. They are so tenacious of life, that no other lish whatever will live so long out of the water as these. They are best in season from May to July ; but may be caught with a line till September. When the water is thick with rains, they may be fished for, during the whole day ; but the largest and best are caught by night-lines. THE HADDOCK. Haddocks migrate in immense shoals,which ustr" allyarriveonourcoastsabout the middle of winter. These are sometimes known to extend, from the shore, nearly three miles in breadth, and in length nearly fifty miles. An idea of their numbers may be had from the following circumstance : three fishermen, within a mile of the harbour of Scar- borough, frequently loaded their boat with them twice a day, taking each time about a ton of fish. The large ones quit the coast as soon as they are out of season, and leave behind theiA great plenty of small ones. The larger ones begin to be in roe in Novem- ber, and continue so for somewhat more than two months : from this time till May, they are reck- oned out o{' «cason. The small ones me extremely 143 good from May till February ; and those that are not old enough to breed, for even two months afterwards. — Haddocks e^eldom grow to any great size ; they very rarely become so large, as to weigh twelve or fourteen pounds ; and they are esteemed more delicate eating, \vhen they do not exceed tliree pounds in weight. In Greenland, these fish remain near the bot- tom of the water, during the day time ; but in the evening they approach the surface. It is then that the fishermen are able to catch them, gener- ally in immense numbers. Sometimes they may be observed to leap quite out of the water, for the purpose of avoiding the dog-fish, and their other enemies ol the deep. In tempestuous weather, Haddocks are said to seek for shelter in the sand or mud, or among sea-weeds. They feed on various small marine animals, and frequently become fat on herrings. The lemale spawn about the month of Febru- ary, at which time they approach the shores in great numbers, for the purpose of depositing their eggs upon the sea- weeds. 144 THE THREE-SPINED STICKLEBACK. These little fish, which seldom exceed two inches i,n length, are very common in many of our rivers. They have three sharp spines on their back, which are their instruments both of offence and defence, ana are always erected on the least appearance of danger, or whenever they are about to attack other fish. The body near the tail is somewhat square, and the sides are covei ed with bony plates. Their usual co- lours are olive greeo above, and white on the under part> ; but in some individuals, the lower jaw and the belly are of a bright crimson. By feeding with great voracity on the fry and spawn of other fish, they are, notwithstand- iig the smallness of their size, greatly detrimen- tal to the increase of almost all the kinds of fish among which they inhabit. One that was put into a glass, devoured in five hours no fewer than seventy-four young dace, each about an inch and a half long, and of the thickness of a hf^ rse-hair, and would have done the same every day, had they been given to it. The fish was put into a glass jar of water, with some sand at the bottom, for the purpose of trying some experiments on it, as well as for the purpose of ascertaining its manners, as far as possible, in a confined state. For a few days it refused to eat ; but by frequently giving it fresb 145 water, and by coming often to it, it began to cat the small worms that were now and then thrown into the jar ; soon afterwards it became so familiar as to take them from the hand ; and at last it even became so bold, as, whea it was satisfied, or did not like what was offered to i(, to set up its prickles, and strike with its utmost strength at the fingers, if put into the water to if. It would suft'er no other lish to live in the same jar, attacking whatever were put in, though ten times its own size. One day, by way of diver- sion, a small tish was put to it. The Stickle- back immediately assaulted and put it to flight, tearing off part of its tail in the conflict; and had they not been then separated, he would un- doubtedly have killed it. Snail as these animals are, they are sometimes so numerous, as to be obliged to migrate, and leave their native places in search of new hab- itations. Once in every seven or eight years, they appear in the river Welland, near Spal- ding in Lincolnshire, in such amazing shoals, as, during their progress up the stream, to ap- pear in a vast body, occupying the whole width of the river. These are supposed to be the overplus of multitudes collected in some of the fens. When this happens, they are taken as manure for land ; and an idea may be formed of their numbers, from the circumstance, that a man, employed by a farmer to catch ihem, got, for some time, four shillings a day, by selling them at a halfpenny a bushel. 146 The great exertions they use, in getting from one place to another, where obstacles occur are very extraordiuary ; for, though the largest among them is seldom known to be more than two mches in length, they have been seen to spring a foot and a half, (nine times their own length.) in perpendicular height from the sur- face of tJie water, and in an oblique direction, much further. They spawn in April and June, on the water plants ; and are very short-lived, scarcely ever attaining the third year. They are too small, and perhaps too bony, to be of any essential serr vice as food to mankind; but in some parts of the Continent, they are of considerable use in fat- tening ducks and pigs. THE COMMON OR RIVER TROUT. Though this is certainly a very delicate and excellent fish for the table, it was in no esteem whatever among the ancients, being only men- tioned by writers on account of its beautiful col- ours. In some rivers,Trouts begin to spawn in Oc-^ tober ; but November is the chief month of spawning. About the end of September they quit the deep water, to which they had retired during the hot weather, and make great efforts 147 to gain the course of the currents, seeking out a proper place lor depositing their spawn. This is always on a gravelly bottom, or where gravel and sand are mixed among stones, towards the end and sides of streams. At this period, they turn black about the head and body, and become soft and unwholesome. After spawning they become feeble, their bodies are wasted, and those beautiful spots, which beiore adorned them, are imperceptible. Their heads appear swelled, and their eyes dull. In this state, they seek still waters, and continue there sick, as it is sup- posed, all the winter. There are in all Trout rivers, some barren female fish, which continue good through the winter. In March, or sometimes earlier, if the weather be mild, the Trouts begin to leave their winter quarters, and approach the shallows and tails of streams, where they cleanse and restore them- selves. As they acquire strength they advance still higher up the rivers, till they fix on their summer residence, for which they generally choose an eddy behind a stone, a log, or bank, that projects into the water, and against which the current drives. They also frequently get into the holes under roots of trees, or into deeps that are shaded by boughs and bushes. These Hsh are said to be in season from March to September. They are, however, fatter from the middle to the end of August, than at an/ other lime. 148 Trouts in a good pond will grow faster than in some rivers. And a gentleman who kept them in ponds, for the purpose of ascertaining the progress and duration of their lives, asserts that at four or five years old, they were at their full growth. For three years subsequent to this, they continued with little alteration in size ; two years after, the head appeared to be enlarged, and the body wasted, and in the following winter, ihey died. According to this computation, nine or ten years seem to be the term of their exis^ tence. In several of the northern rivers, Trouts are taken as red and as well -tasted as charr ; and their bones, when potted, dissolve like those of charr. These are often very large : one of them was caught some time ago, that measured twen- ty-eight inches in length. — A Trout w-as taken in the river Stour, in December 1797, which weighed twenty six pounds, and another, some years ago, in Lough Neagh, in the north of Ireland, that weighed thirty pounds. This lish is not easily caught with a line, be- ing at all limes exceedingly wary. The baits used are worms, or artificial flies. The season for fishing, is from March till Michaelmas. The angler prefers cloudy weather, but he is not par- licular as to the time of day. 149 THE COMMON PIKE. The're is scarcely any fish of its size in the world, that in voracity can equal the Pike. One of them has been known to choke itself in at- tempting to swallow another of its own species, that proved too large a morsel : and it has been well authenticated, that a Pike seized the head of a swan as she was feeding under water, and gorged so much of it, as killed them both. '• I have been assured (says Walton) by my friend Mr. Seagrave, who keeps tame otters, that he has known a Pike, in extreme hunger, fight with one of his otters for a carp that the otter had caught, and was then bringing out of the water." Boulker, in his Art of Angling, says, that his father caught a Pike, which he presented to Lord Cholmondely, that was an ell long, and weighed thirty-five pounds. His lordship di- rected it to be put into a canal in his garden, which at that time contained a great quantity of fish. Twelve months afterwards, the water was draw^n off, and it was discovered that the Pike had devoured all the fish except a single large carp, that weighed between nine and ten pounds; and even this liad been bitten in several places. The Pike was again put in, and an entire fresh stock of Msh for him to feed on : all these he derourcd in less than a year. Several 160 times he was observea by workmen who were standing near, to draw ducks and other water- fowl under water. Crows were shot and thrown in. which he took in the presence of the men. From this time, the slaughtermen had orders to feed him with the garbage of the slaughter-house ; but, being aftewards neglected, he died, as it is supposed, from want of food. In December, 1765, a Pike was caught in the river Oiise, that weighed upwards of twenty- eight pounds, and was sold for a guinea. When it was opened, a watch with a black riband and two seals were found in its body. These, it was afterwards discovered, had belonged to a gentleman's servant, who had dropped them in the river about a month before. Gesner relates, that a famished Pike, in the Rhone, seized on the lips of a mule, and was, in consequence, dragged out of the water; and that people, while washing their legs, had often been bitten by these voracious creatures. The smaller fish exhibit the same fear of this tyrant, as some of thel'eathered tribe do of the rapacious birds, sometimes swimming round him, while lying dormant near the surface, in vast numbers, and with great anxiety. If the accounts of different writers on the sub. jcct aretobe credited, the longevity of tlie Pikei« very remarkable. Gesner goes so far, as to mention a Pike, whose age was ascertained to be 267 years. 151 Pikes spawn in March or April. When they are in l)i..M» .^♦|><..<. <..<«. THE COMMON FLYING-FISH. The Flying-fish, if we except its head and flat back, ha •, in the form of its body, a great resemblance to the herring. The scales are large and silvery. The breast fins are very long ; and the back fin is small, and placed near the tail, which is forked. The wings, as they 152 are usually denominated, with which these fish have the power of raising themselves in the air, are nothing more than large breast tins, compos- ed of seven or eight ribs or rays, connected by a flexible, transparent, and glutinous membrane. They commence near the gills, and are capable of considerable motion backwards and forwards. These fins are used also to aid the progress of the fish in the water. The Flying-tish has numerous enemies in its own elemer*; which pursue and devour it. To aid ils escape, it is furnished with these long breast lins, by which it is able to raise itself into the air, where it is often seized by the albatross or tropic birds. Its flight is short, seldom more than sixty or seventy yards at one stretch ; but, by touching the surface, at intervals, to moisten its tins, it is able to double or treble this dis- tance. The whole flight, how^ever, is of so short a duration, that even in the hottest weather, its fins do not become dry. By touching the water, it not oidy wets its tins, but seems to take fresh force and vigour, in another spring into an ele- ment, where it is not long able to support ils weight by the clumsy motion of its fins. If the Flying-fishes were solitary animals, they would not be worth the pursuit of some of their larger enemies : tlioy are very seldom seen to rise su»- gly from the water, but generally appear in large shoals. It has been remarked, that " all animated na- ture aecms combined against this little lish, which 163 possesses the double poivers of swimmin£^ and flying;, only in order to subject it to greater dan- gers. Its destiny is, however, by no means peculiarly severe :'' we should considerthat, as a lish, it often escapes the attack oi birds ; and, in its winged character, the individuals frequently throw themselves out of the power of fishes. The eyes of these fish are sr prominent, as to admit of their seeing danger from whatever quarter it may come; but, on emergency, they are able, in addition, to push them somewhat beyond the sockets, so as considerably to enlarge their power of sight. They are frequently either unable to direct their flight out of a straight line, or else they be- come exhausted on a sudden ; for, sometimes, whole shoals of them fall on board the ships that navigate the seas of warm climates. In the water, they have somewhat the manner of the swallow in the air, except that they al- ways swim in straight lines ; and the blackness of their backs, the whiteness of their bellies, and their forked and expanded tails, give them much the same appearance. THE GOLD FISH. Gold Fish are natives of China; and the most beautiful, kinds are caught in a small lake in the province of Chekyang, in that kingdom.* 154 They were first introduced into Ireland about the year 1691, but were not generally known till thirty years afterwards. In China they are kept in ponds, or large poroelaia vessels, by almost every person of dis- tinction. In these, they are very lively and ac- tive, sporting about the surface of the water with great vivacity ; but they are so very delicate, that, if great guns are fired, or any substances giving out a powerful smell, as pitch or tar, are burnt near theni, numbers of them will be killed. — In each of the ponds or basins where they are kept, there is an earthen pan, with holes in it, turned upside down. Under this they retire when, at any time, they find the rays of the sun too powerful. The water is changed three or four times a week. Whilst this is done, it is necessary to remove the fish into ano- ther vessel ; but they are always taken out by means of a net, for the least handling would destroy them, When Gold-fish are kept in ponds, they are often taught to rise to the surface of the water at the sound of a bell, to be fed. At Pekin, for three or four months of the winter, or whilst the cold weather lasts, the fish in the ponds are not fed at all. They are able, during that time, to get the small quantity of food they require in the water. In order to prevent their being frozen, they are often taken into the houses, and kept in 155 china vessels, till the warm weather of spring allows their being returned to their ponds with safety. In hot countries, Gold-fish multiply very fast, if care be taken to remove the spawn, which swims on the surface of the water, into other ponds ; for otherwise, the animals would devour the greater part of it. The young fry, when first produced, are perfectly black ; but they afterwards change to white, and then to gold colour. The latter colours appear first about the tail, and extend upwards. The smallest fish are preferred, not only from their being more beautifd than the larger ones, but because a greater number of them can be kept. These are of a fine orange red, appear- ing as if sprinkled over with gold dust. Some, however, are white, like silver, and others white spotted with red. When dead, they lose all their lustre. The females are known from the males, by several white spots which they have near the gills, and the breast fins : the males have these parts very bright and shining. In China, the Gold-fish, are fed with balls of paste, and the yolks of eggs •boiled very hard. In England, many persons are of opinion that they need no food. It is true that they will subsist for a long while, without any other food than what they can collect from water frequently changed ; yet they must draw some support from animalcules and other nourishment si^plied K 156 by the water- Thai they are best pleased by such slender diet may easily be confuted, yet they will readily, if not greedily, seize crumbs that are throw^n to them. Bread ought, how- ever, to be given sparingly, lest, turning sour, it corrupt the wa^er. They will also feed on the water-plant called duck's meat, and on rye. Gold-fish do not often multiply in very close confinement. If it is desired tohave them breed, they must be put into a tolerably Iprge reservoir, through which a stream of water runs, and in which there arc some deep places. THE COMMON CARP. Jn their general habits, those fish exhibit so great a degree of cunning, as to be sometimes calledbythecountry people, the River Fox, WhjMi attempted to be taken by a net, they will often leap over it ; or immerse themselves so deep in the mud, as to sufler tlie net to pass over with- out' touching thorn. They are also very shy of taking a bait; but, during spawning-time, so in- lent are they on the business of depositing their eggs that thoy will suifer themselves to be handled by any one who attempts it. They breed three or four times in the year, but their iirat spawning is in the beginning of May. lot Carp are found in the slow rivers and sta^-^ nant waters of Europe and Persia ; and hero principally in deep holes, under the roots of trees, hollow banks, or great beds of flags, &e. They do not often exceed four feet in length, and twenty pounds in weight; but some have been oaught in the lake of Como in Italy, that weighed two hundred pounds each ; and others have been taken v.i the Dneisfer live feet in length. From their quick growth and vast increase, tlicse are considered as the most valuable of all fish lor tlie stocking of ponds ; and if the breed- ing and ieeding of them were belter understood, and more practised, than they are, the advan- tage's resuiiing from them would be very great. A pond stocked with these fish, would become as valuable to its owner as a garden. In ma.ny parts of Prussia, Carp are bred in great quan- titfes, and are thus made to form a considerable part of the revenue of the principal personages of the country, being sent from thence, in w^ell- boats, into Sweden and Russia, where they are very scarce. By being constantly fed, they may be render- ed so famjiiar, as always to come to the side of the pond where they are kept, for food. Dr. Smith, speaking ol: the Prince of Conde''s seat at Chantilly, says, " The most pleasing things about it were the immense shoals of very large Carp, silvered over with age, like silver fish, and perfectly tame •, so that, when any passeu- k2 158 gers approached their watery habitation, they used to come to the shore in such numbers as to heave each other out of the water, beggiug for bread, of which a quantity was always kept at hand on purpose to feed them. They would even allow themselves to be handled.''— Sir John Hawkins was assured by a clergyman, a friend of his, that at the abbey of St. Bernard, near Antwerp, he saw a Carp come to the edge of its pond, at the whistling of the person who fed it. Carp are very long-lived: the pond in the garden of Emanuel Coilege, Cambridge, con- tained a Carp, that had been an inhabitant more than seventy years ; and Gesner has mentioned an instance of one that was an hundred years old. They are also extremely tenacious of life, and will live for a great length of time out of water. An experinaent has been made by placing a Carp in a net, well wrapped up in wet moss, (the mouth only remaining out,) and then hang- ing it up in a cellar or some cool place. — The fish in this situation is to be frequently fed with white bread and milk, and is besides to be bften plunged in water. Carp, thus managed, have been known, not only to live above a fortnight, but to have grown exceedingly fat, and become far superior in taste to those immediately taken from the pond. These fish were first introduced into this coun- try, about three hundred years ago. Of their sound or air-bladder, a kind of fiRh-gluo k made ; and a green paint of their gall. 159 THE MUSCLE. The Muscle is well known, whether belong- ing to fresh or salt-water : it consists of two equal shells, joined at the back by a strong muscular ligament that answers all the purposes of a hinge. By the elastic contraction of these, the animal can open its shells at pleasure, about a quarter of an inch from each other. The fish is fixed to either shell by four tendons, by means of which, it shuts them close, and keeps its body firm from being crushed by any shock against the walls of its own habitation. The muscle produces in great numbers, as all bivalved shell-fish are found to do. The fecun- dity of the snail kind is trifling in comparison to the fertility of these. Indeed it may be asserted as a general rule in nature, that the more help- less and contemptible the animal, the more pro- lific it is always found. Thus, all creatures, that are incapable of resisting the various accidents to which they are exposed, have nothing but their quick multiplication, for the continuation of their kind. The multitude of these animals, in some places, is very great ; but, from their defenceless state, the number of their destroyers is in equal pro- portion. The crab, the cray-fish, and many other animals, are seen to devour them ; but the trocbus is their most formidable enemy. Whea 160 their shells are ibiiiid deserlcd, if we then ob- serve closely, It is most probable we shall liiul that the trochus has been at work in piercing them. There is scarcely one ol them vvilhout a hole in it; and this i)robably was the avenue by which the enemy entered to destroy the inha- bitant. But notwithstanding the number of thi§ crea- ture's animated enemies, it seems still more fearful of the agitations of the element in which it resides ; for if dashed against rocks, or thrown far on the beach, it is destroyed without a power of redress. In order to guard against these, vvhich are to this animal the commonest and the most fatal accidents, although it has a power of slow motion, whiehshall be presently described, yet it endeavours to become stationary, and to attach itself to any fixed ol)ject it happens to be near. For this purpose, it is furnished with a very singular capacity of binding itself by a num- ber of threads to whatever object it approaches ; sometimes, indeed, for want of such an object, these animals are found united to each other ; and though thrown into a lake separately, they are taken out in bunches of many together. To have some fixed resting i)lace, where the muscle can continue, and take in all its acei- deiital food, srems the stale that tins animal chiefly desires. lis instrument of motion, by which it contrives to reach the object it wants to tjind itself to, is that naiscular substance re- 161 sembllng a tongue, whioli is found long in pro- portion to the size of the musele. In some, it is two inches long, in others, not a third part of these dimensions. This the animal has a power of thrusting out of its shell ; and with this, it is capable of making a slight furrow in the sand at the bottom. By means of this furrow, it can erect itself upon the edge of its shell ; and thus continuing to make the furrow, in proportion as it goes forward, it reaches out its tongue that answers the purpose of an arm, and thus carries its shell edge-ways, as in a groove, until it reaches the point intended. There, where it determines to take up its residence, it fixes the ends of its beard, which are glutinous, to the rock or the object, whatever it be ; and thus like a ship at anchor, braves all the agitations of the water. Sometimes the animal is attached by a large number of threads ; sometimes but by three or four, that seem scarcely able to retain it. When the muscle is fixed in this manner, it lives upon the little earthy particles that the water transports to its shells, and perhaps the iiesh of the most diminutive animals. However, it does not fail to grow considerably ; and some of this kind have been found a foot long. Some of the beards are a foot and an half long ; and of this substance, the natives of Palermo, some- times make gloves and stockings. These shell-fish are found in lakes, rivers, and in the sea. Those of the lake often grow .^1 162 to a very large size ; but they seem a solitary animal, and are found generally separate from each other. Those of rivers are not so large, but yet in greater abundance ; but the sea muscle of all others is perhaps the most plenty. These are often bred artificially in salt water marshes, that are overflowed by the tide ; the fishermen throwing them in at the proper seasons ; and there, being undisturbed by the agitations of the sea, and not preyed upon by their powerful enemies at the bottom, they cast their eggs, which soon become perfect animals, and these are generally found in clusters of several dozen together. It requires a year for the peopling a muscle-bed ; 60 that, if the number consists of forty thousand, a tenth part may be annually left for the peopling of the bed anew. Muscles are taken from their beds from the month of July to October ; and they are sold at a very moderate price. THE OYSTER. The Oyster, with the shape and appearance of winch, almost every one is acquainted, is ut- terly unable to change its situation. The mus- cle, as we have observed, is capable of erecting itself on an edge, and going forward with a slow laborious motion. The oyster is wholly, passive, and endeavours by all its powers to rest fixed to one 13 spot at the bottom. It is entirely wTlhout that which we saw answering the purpose of an arm in the other animal ; but, nevertheless, is often attached very firmly to any object it happens to approach. Rocks, stones, pieces of timber, or sea weeds, all seem proper to give it a fixture, and to se- cure it against the agitation of the waves. No- thing is so common in the rivers of the tropical climates, as to see oysters growing even amidst the branches of the forest. Many trees which grow along the banks of the stream, often bend their branches into the water, and particularly the mangrove, which chiefly delights in a moist situation. To these, the oysters hang in clusters, like apples upon the most fertile tree ; and in proportion as the weight of the fish sinks the plant into the water, where it still continues growing, the number of oysters encreases which adhere to the branches. Thus, there is nothing that these shell fish will not stick to ; they are often even found to stick to each other. This is effected by means of a glue proper to themselves, which, when it cements, the joining is as hard as the shell, and is as difiicultly broken. The joining substance, however, is not always of glue ; but the animal grows to the rocks, some- what like the muscle, by threads ; although these are only seen to take root in the shell, and not as in the muscle, to spring from the body of the fish itself. k3 164 Oysters usnally cast their spawn in May, which at fe^-st ap])ear like drops of" candle-greasf, and stick to any hard substance they fall upon. These are covered with a shell in two or three days; and in three years, the'ani- mal is large enough to be brouglit to market. As they invariably remain in the places where they are laid, and as they grow without any other seeming food than the aillux of sea water, it is the custom, wherever the tide settk-s in marshes on land, to pick up great quantities of small oysters along the shore, which, when first gathered, seldom exceed the size of a sixpence. These are deposited in beds where the tide comes in, and in two or three years grow to a tolerable size. They are said to be better lasted lor be- ing thus sheltered from the agitations of the deep ; and a mixture of fresh water entering into these repositories, is said to improve their flavour, and to encrease their growth and fat- ness. The oysters, however, which are prepared in this manner, are by no means so large as those found sticking to rocks at the bottom of the sea, and usually called rock-oysters. These are sometimes found as broad as a plate, and ad- mired by some as excellent food. But what is the size of these, compared to the oysters of the JEast Indies, some of whose shells have been seen two feet over I The oysters found along the coast of Coromandel, are capable of furnish- 1G5 ing a plendfu! meal to ci^ht or (en men; but n seems universally aj^reed, that they are no way comparable to ours, lor delicacy or flavour. Few people, as we have mentioned, are unac- quainted with the aj)pearance and taste of an oyster, but every one does not know, that it is from this fish tiiat pearls are procured: we shall, therefore, first mention, where (he pearl fisheries are carried on, and afterwards give a descrip- tion of the manner in which the oysters that contain p^^arlsare taken. All oysters, and most shell-fish, are found to contain pearls; but that which pariicularly ob- tains the name of the pearl oyster, has a large strong whitish shell, wrinkb^d and rough with- out, and within smooth, and of a silver colour. From these, the mother-of-pearl is taken, which is nothing more than the internal coats of the shell, resembling the pearl in colour and consis- tence. This is taken out, and shaped into that variety of utensils which are found so beautiful ; but the pearl itself is chiefly prized ; being found but in few oysters, and generally adhering to, sometimes making a print in, the body of the shell, sometimes ai large within the substance of the fish. There are a great number of pearl fisheries in America and Asia ; but as pearls bear a worse price than formerly, those of America are in a great measure discontinued. The most famous of all the Asiatic fisheries is in thePersianGulpb, 166 and the most valuable pearls are brought from thence. The value of these jewels increases not only in proportion to their size, but also their figure and colour ; for some pearls are white, others are yellowish, others of a lead colour ; and some affirm they have been found as black as jet. What it is that gives these different tinctures to pearls is not known. The best coloured pearls and the roundest are brought from tiie East ; those of America are neither so white nor so exactly oval. All pearls, however, in time become yellow ; they may be considered as an animal substance, con- verted into a stony hardness, and, like ivory, taking a tincture from the air. They have been even found to decay, when kept in damp and vaulted places, and to moulder into a substance scarcely harder than chalk. The wretched people that are destined to fish for pearls, are either Negroes, or some of the poorest of the natives of Persia. The divers are not only subject to the dangers of the deep, to tempests, to suffocation at the bottom, to being d-^voured by sharks, but from their profession, universally labour under a spitting of blood, occasioned by the pressure of air upon their lungs in going down to the bot- tom. The most robust and healthy young men are chosen for this employment, but they seldom survive it above five or six years. Their fibres 167 become rigid ; their eye-balls turn red ; and they usually die consumptive. Ii is amazing how very long they are seen to continue at the bottom. Some, as we are as- sured, have been known to continue a quarter of an hour under water without breathing ; though to one unused to diving, two minutes would suffocate the strongest. No way of life seems so laborious, so dan- gerous, or so painful. They fish for pearls, or rather the oysters that contain them, in boats tw€nty-eight feet long ; and of these, there are sometimes three or four hundred at a time, with each seven or eight stones, which serve for an- chors. There are from five to ten divers be- longing to each, who dive one after another. They are quite naked, except that they have a net hanging down from their neck to put the oys- ters in, and gloves on their hands, to defend them, while they^pickthe oysters from the holes ih the rocks ; for in this manner alone can they be gathered. Every diver is sunk by means of a stone, weighing fifty pounds, tied to the rope by which he descends. He places his foot in a kind of stirrup, and laying hold of the rope with his left hand, with his right he stops his nose to keep in his breath, as upon going down, he takes in a very long inspiration. They are no sooner come to the bottom, but they give the" signal to those who are in the boat to draw up the stone; which done, they go to work, filling their net as i3 168 fast as they can ; and then giving another sig- nal, the boats above pull up tli(^ net loaded "ith oysters, and shortly after, the diver himself to take breath. They dive to the depth of tifteen fathoms, and seldom go deeper. They gene- rally go every morning by break of day to this fatiguing employment, taking the laud wind to wait them out to sea, and returning with the sea breeze at night. The owners of the boats usu- ally hire jlhe divers, and the rest of the joal's crew, ^s we do our labourers, at so much a day. All the oysters are brought on shore, where they are laid in a great heap until the pearl fisliery is over, which continues during the mouths of November and December. When opportunity serves, they then examine every oyster, and it is accidental whether the capture turns out advantageous. Indeed no human bcino- can wish well to a commerce, which thus chains such a number of 1'gIIow creatures to the bottom, to pluck up a glittering mouldering pebble. To this account of the pearl hishery in gene- ral, we shall add a description of a very exten- sive one, which is now carried on in the island of Ceylon, in the East Indies : — CoNDATCHY, the district near which the pearl oysters are taken, is situated in the bay, forming nearly a half moon, and is a waste sandy tract, witJi some miserable huts built on if. The water is bad and brackish, and the soil produces only a few stunted trees and bushes. The persons 169 nlio remain liore durini^ the fishery, are oblii^ed lo get water lor drinking, from a village, about four miles to the soutliward. Tigers, porcupines and wild liogs are, aiiiungst other quadrupeds, eui!}5non here. Daring the lishing season, the desert, barren piaee, Condatchy, oilers lo our view, a scene equally novel and astonishing. A mixture of thousands of people of diffeient colours, coun- tries, casts and occupations ; the number of tents and huts, erected upon (he sea shore, with their shops before each of them ; and the many boats returning on shore in the afternoon, gene^ rally richly laden ; all together form a sight entirely new to an European eye. Eacli owner runs to his respective boa*, as soon as it reaches the shore, in hopes of finding it filled ^Yith im- mense treasure, which is often nnu-ii greater in imagination, than in reality. To prevent not and disorder, an oiTicer, with a, party of sol- diers is stationed there: ihey occupy a large square, where they have a field piece of cannoti, and a flag staff for signals. Here and iliere, you meet with brokers, jewellers, and merchants of all descriptions ; also sutders, offering provi- sions, and other articles to gratify the appetite. But by far the greater number are occupied with the pearls; some are busily employed in assort- ing them, forwhicli purpose they make use ofsmall brass plates, bored thromrh with holes of dii- ierent sizes ; others are weighing and offering 170 them to the purchaser ; while others are drilling or boring them, which they perform for a trifle. The pestilential smell, occasioned by the numbers of putrifying pearl fishes, renders the air of Condatchy insuiferably offensive, and pro- duces an immense number of worms, flies, and other vermin. Those who are not provided with much money, suiFer great hardships, as all kinds of provisions are very dear, and even every drop of good water must be paid for. Those who drink the brackish water of this place, are often attacked by sickness ; it may easily be conceived, what an effect the extreme heat of the day, the cold of the night, the heavy dews, and the putrid smell, must have on weak con- stitutions. It is therefore no wonder, that of those who fall sick, many die, and many more return home with fevers, and other fatal dis- orders. The many disappointments usually expe- rienced by the lower classes of men in parti- cular, make them often repent of their coming here ; they are often ruined, as they risk all they are worth to purchase pearl shells ; how- ever, there are many instances of their making a fortune beyond all expectation. A day la- bourer bought three oysters for a copper coin, cf the value of two pence, and was so fortunate as to find one of the largest pearls, which the fishery produced that season. About ten o'clock at night, a gun is fired, as a signal, whcg they 171 sail from Condatchy, with an easterly or land wind, under the direction of a piiot : if the wind continues fair, they reach the bank before day, and begin diving at sunrise, which they con- tinue, till the west or sea breeze sets in, v\ith which (hey return. The moment they appear in sight, the colours are hoisted at the flag staff, and in:the afternoon, they come to an anchor, so that the owners of the boats, are thereby en- abled to get their cargoes out before night, which may amount to 30,000 oysters, if the divers have been active and successful. Each boat carries twenty-one men, and five heavy diving stones, for the use of ten divers, the rest of the crew consists of a head boat-man, and ten rowers, who assist in lifting up the divers and their shells. The diving stone is a piece of coarse heavy rock, a foot long, half a foot thick, and of a sugar-loaf shape, round at the top and bottom. A large hair rope is put through a hole in the top ; these stones generally weigh about thirty pounds ; some divers use another kind of stone, shaped like a half moon, to bind round their belly, so that their feet may be free. Their manner of diving is as follows : a diving stone and a net are connected with the boat, by two cords. The diver putting the toes of his right foot, on the hair rope of the diving stone, and those of his left on the net, seizes the two cords with one hand, and shutting his nostrils with the other, plunges into the water. On reaching the 172 bottom, he hangs the net round his neck, and collects into it the peiirl shells, as fast as possible, during the time he is able to remain under water, vvliich is usually two minutes. He then resumes his ibrmer posture, and making a signal, by pulling the cords, h^ is immediately lifted into the boat. On emerging out of the sea, he dis- charges a quantity of water from his mouth and nose, and those who have not been long inured to diving, frequently discharge some blood ; but this does not prevent them from diving again in their turn. When the first divers come up, and arc drawing breath, the other five are going down, with the same stones ; each brings up about one hundred oysters in his net, and if not interrupted by any accident, may make fifty trips in a morning. The divers and the boat\s crew, get generally from the owner, instead of money, a fourth of the quantity ihey bring on shore ; but some are paid in cash, according to agreements made. The owners of the boats, sometimes sell their oysters, and at other times, open (hem on their own account •, in the latter case, some put them on mats in a square, surrounded with a fence ; others dig holes of almost a foot deep, and throw them in till the fish dies; after which, they o])en the shells, and lake out the pearls with more ease. Even those squares and holes are sold by auction, after the fishery is finished, 8s pearls ojlen remian there, niixedwith the sand. 173 THE PIIOLAS. Of all kinds of shell iish, the Pholacs are the most wonderful. From their great powers oi' penetration, compared with iht-ir apparent weakness, they justly excite the astonishment of the cnricus observer. These animals are found in diti'erent places; sometimes clothed in their proper shell, at the bottom of the water ; some- times concealed in lumps of marly earth ; and sometimes lodged, shell and all, in the body of fJie hardest marble. In their proper shell, they assume different figures ; in general, they re- semble a muscle. But their penetration into rocks, and their residence there, makes up the most wonderful part of their history. This animal, when divested of its shell, re- sembles a roundish, soft pudding, with no in- strument that seems in the lea>t iitted for boring jjilo stones, or even penetrating the softest sub- stance. It is furnished with two teeth indeed ; but these are placed in such a situation as to be incapable of touching the hollow surface of its yiony dwelling ; it has also tvv'o covers to its shell, ihat open and shut at either end : but these aie totally unserviceable to it as a miner. The instrument with which it pprforras all its ope- rations, and buries itself in thp hardest rocks, is only a broad ficshy substance, spmewhai re- sembling a long.ue, that is seen issuing from th<^ 174 bottom of i(s shell. With this soft, yielding instrument, it perforates the most solid mar- bles ; and having, while yet little and young, made ita way, by a very narrow entrance, into the substance of the stone, it then begins to grow bigger, and thus to enlarge its apart- ment. The seeming unfitness, however, of this animal for penetrating into rocks, and there forming a habitation, has induced many phi- losophers to suppose, that they entered the rock while it was yet in a soft state, and from the petrifying quality of the water, that the whole rock afterwards hardened round them by degrees. Thus any penetrating quality, it was thought, was unjustly ascribed to them, as they only bored into a soft substance, that was hardened by lime. This opinion, however, has been confuted, in a very satisfactory manner, by Doctor Bohads who observed, that many of the pillars of the temple of Serapis at Puteoli were penetrated by these animals. From thence he very justly concludes, that the pholas must have pierced into them since they were erected ; for no workmen would have laboured a pillar into form, if it had been honey-combed by worms in the quarry. In short, there can be no doubt that the pillars were perfectly sound when erec- ted ; and that the pholades have attacked them, during that time in which they continued buried under water, by means of the earthquake that swallowed up the city. 175 From hence it appears, that, in all nature, there is not a greater instance of perseverance ^d patience than what this animal is seen to exhibit. Furnished with the bluntost and sof- test auger, by slow, successive applications, it effects what other animals are incapable of performing by force : penetrating the hardest bodies only with its tongue. When, while yet naked and very small, it has effected an entrance, and has bjiried its body in the stone', it there continues l^r life at its case; the sea- water that enters at the little aperture, supplying it with luxurious plenty. When the animal has taken too great a quantity of water, it is seen to spurt it out of its hole with some violence. Upon this seemingly thin diet, it quickly grows larger and larger, and soon finds itself under a necessity of enlarging its habitation and its shell. The motion of the pholas is slow beyond conception ; its progress keeps pace with the growth of its body ; and, in proportion as it becomes larger, it makes its way farther into the rock. When it has got a certain way in, it then turns from its former direction, and hollows downward ; till, at last, when its habitation is completed, the whole apartment resembles the hole of a tobacco pipe ; the hole in the shank being that by which the animal entered. Thus immured, the pholas lives in darkness, indolence and plenty ; it never removes from Il6 Ihc narrow mansion into which it has pcndra- ted : and seems perfectly content with being in* closed in its own sepulchre. The inflnx ct" the sea-vvattr, ihat enters by its little gallery, sa- tishes all its w^ants ; and without any other food, it is found to grow from seven to eight inches long, and thjck in proportion. But they are not only supplied with their rocky ])Hbita(ion : they have also a sliell to pro- tect them : this shell grows upon ihcm in the body of the rock, and seems a very unnecessary addition to thoir defence, which they have pro- cured for themselves by art. Yet the pholas thus shut up, is not so solitary an animal as it would at Hrst appear ; for though it is immured in its hole without egress, though it is impossible for the animal, grown to a great size, to get out by the way it made in, yet many of this kind often meet in the heart of the rock, and, like miners in a siege, who some- times cross each other's galleries, they frequent- ly break in upon each other;* retreats. Whether their thus meeting he the work of accident or of choice, few can lake apon them to determine ; certain it is, they are most commonly found in numbers in the same rock; and sometimes ahove twenty are discovered within a few inches of each other. As to the rest, (his animal is found in greatest numbers at Ancona, in Italy; it is founvd along the shores of Normandy and Poitou, in France; 77 it is found also upon some of the coasts of Scot- land : and, in general, is considered as a very great delicacy, at the tables of the luxurious. THE BARNACLE. A Shell so conmion as the Barnacle, can hardly have escaped the observation of those who live near the coast, as it is frequently seen adhering to the shells of oysters, muscles, and lobsters, and covers the small rocks which abound on the sea shore. The shell is of a sugar-loaf shape, and when perfect, is covered by a lid, which the animal inside raises from time to time to admit the sea water, and collect such food as is fitted for its nourishment. It is open at the bottom, by which it sticks to the rock, and that with so much firmness, that it is difficult to separate it, even with a knife. The little inhabitants of these shells are very singu- larly formed, having twenty-four small feelers, which resemble so many leathers, and which serve them to secure the small sea insects on which they feed. — Whenever the animal feels inclined to search for prey, it lifts the lid which covers the shell, and stretches out its feelers like so many arms, which remain extended till something comes within us reach ; when the Barnacle immediately seisze upon the prize, 178 and sinking within its shell, devours it at leisure; twelve of these feelers are smaller than the rest, and being more pliant, are thought to perform the office of hanus. There is another kind of Barnacle, called the Goose Barnacle, which deserves to be no- ticed, on account of a mistaken notion pre- vailing amongst the ignorant, that the bird called the Barnacle Goose was not produced like other birds from an egg, but from the shell fish, we have mentioned. This error, absurd as it appears, was not confined to the ignorant, but seems to have been believed by persons who ought to have viewed objects of this nature with other eyes. It was supposed by them, that the inhabitant of the shell was a young bird, which having grown sufficiently, freed itself from the confinement of its shell, and dropped into the water below. Amongst others who held this opinion, was Gerard, the celebrated naturalist, and his account is so curious, that we shall give it in his own words : — *' But what our eyes have seen, and hands have touched, we shall declare : There is a small island in Lancashire, (on the western coast of England,) called " The Pile of Flanders," wherein are found broken pieces of old and bruised ships, some whereof have been cast thither by shipwreck ; and also the trunks and bodies, with the branches of old rotten trees, cast up there likewise •, whereon is found a certain froth, that in time breedeth into cer- 179 tain shells, in shape like those of a muscle, but sharper pointed, and of a whitish colour. One end whereof is fastened unto the inside of the shell, even as the fish of oysters and muscles, and the other end is made fast unto the belly, of a rude mass, which in time cometh to the shape and form of a bird. When it is perfectly formed, the shell gapcth open, and the liist thing that appeareth, is the aforesaid lace or string ; next come the legs of the bird, hanging out, and as it groweth groater, it openeth the shell by degrees, till at length it has all come forth, and hangeth by the bill ; in a short space after, it conoeth to full maturity, and falleth into the sea, when it gathereth feathers, and groweth to a fowl, bigger than a mallard, and less tiian a goose, having black logs and bill, and feathers black and white spotted, in such a manner as our magpie, whicii the people of Laneashire call by no other name than Tree Goose ; which in this place, and places adjoining, do so much abound, that one of the best is bought for three pence. For the truth of this, if any doubt, may it please them to repair to me, and I shall satisfy them by the testimony of good wit- nesses." The body of the Lepas, or Goose Barnacle, is oval. The mouth consists of a long trunk, and is surrounded by tvi^elve long fcatiiers, arms, or feelers, which hang out from the moulh of the shell, and no doubt give rise to the mistaken L 180 ©pinion we have mentioned — the feelers being thought to resemble the feet and wings of a bird. It is found sticking in clusters to the bottom of ships, and sometimes to floating pieces of timber, which are washed on shore. — In this latter state, it was found not long sinee, by the fishermen of Baldoyle, who exhibited it for money in Dublin, as the Barnacle Goose, in its young state. THE RAZOR FISH. This shell fish is provided with a habitation shaped like the handle of a razor, and there- fore well adapted for assisting the animal in penetrating the sand in which it resides ; just over the place where the razor buries itself. there is a small hole like a chimney, through which the animal breathes, or draws in the sea wa- ter. Upon the desertion of the tide, these holes are easily distinguished by the fishermen, who 8eek for it; and their method of enticing the razor up from its retreat is, by sprinkling a little sea salt upon the hole. This melting, no sooner reaches the razor below% than it rises instantly straight upwards, and shews about half its length abore the surface. Its appear- ance is however momentary, and if the fisher- man does not seize the opportunity, the razor buries itself with great ease to its former depth ^ 181 there it continues secure. No palt can allure it a second time — but it remains unmolested, un- less the fisher will be at the trouble ol difrffin}; ]t out, sometimes two feet below the suiiuce. In England, the razor fish is chiefly used lor bait, but in Ireland, it is eaten, and is said to be nearly as rich and palatable as the lobster. These animals are not provided with the means of leaving the spot where they are placed, though tliey are furnished with a tongue, which amply fits them for their ordinary motions, and is perhaps one of the most curious cf Nature's works. This instrument, so necessary for the ani- mal's salety and support, is fleshy, round, and ra- ther long ; it is pushed through the end of the shell, whenever the animal has occasion to use it, and its extremity is capable of being formed into different shapes, according to the use required ; when it is to cut a hole in the sand, it takes the form of a shovel, ending in a point, and after- wards can assume that of a hook, by which it takes a firmer hold, and buries itself to the desired depth. When the little workman has occasion to return to the surface, in search of food, the end of the tongue now has the shape of a knob, which it presses against the bottom of the hole, and pushes itself to the top. FINIS. 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